Urameshi Is More Than Just A Name
by Moonraker One
Summary: 15-yr old Atsuko Synchori accidentally activates an artifact at a museum, suddenly finding herself in the Makai, accompanying a youkai with a unusually calm demeanor. Can love blossom between her and 9000-yr old Saotuke Urameshi?
1. Chapter One

_Urameshi is More Than Just a Name_  
by Moonraker One

* * *

An entry from the diary of King Piccolo, ruler of Makai:

One of my biggest allies doesn't even consider me so. Today I ended my campaign to conquer all of the Makai, having most of my thanks to go to a lower S-rank youkai that aided my campaign against his otherwise knowledge, or perhaps he did know. I've never had the guts to meet Saotuke Urameshi, heir to the second most powerful bloodline in Makai (second only to mine when I have offspring), but from what I've heard, most of the more powerful youkai that rest in the bottom fear him, and as such, I was able to make my way into the position of king by claiming to be his training partner. I fear that one day it may come to blows between us, but then again, I doubt his need for honor would allow him to betray his desire to simply survive. But if he ever tried to unrest me from my position, it may just destroy this entire demon realm...

* * *

Author Notes: This story will be told in "sections," one section being the past, and one being the present. I will try to divide the two as much as possible. I apologize in advance for the shortness of this first chapter; subsequent chapters will be longer.

Chapter One: Atsuko Synchori, Museum Volunteer

A gigantic lizard creature towered more than fifty feet above the ground, where its feet were firmly planted in cement. Taking in a deep breath, then letting it out, Atsuko Synchori marveled in the vastness of the museum where the bulk of her after-school time got spent. Dinosaur bones assembled in their most likely formation rose above the floor for visitors to be amazed by. At the age of fifteen, she knew her parents would not allow her to work at the museum even part time, so she spent only a few days each week volunterring at the place. She happened to be on good terms with the curator in terms of frendship, so he generally let her see the new arrivals at the museum long before the rest of the people were allowed access. Her friends simply did not understand how she could go to a place like the museum, when, far more "hip" places existed. She gave them the same answer every time they asked her: she just loved looking at the past, for it reminded her of how to handle the future. The hustle and bustle of the daily late afternoon crowd almost drowned out the tell-tale shouting of the curator.

"Atsuko!? Where are you!?" She cringed; he usually stayed so calm. Was there an emergency?

"I'm over here; can you tell me what the problem is?" He rolled his eyes.

"I'm not mad at you, I just figured you'd want to follow me into the back, because we got in a new shipment from the main museum in Tokyo!" She practically threw visitors to the museum out of the way in order to make her way over to him. The smile on his face indicated that he told the truth when he said that a new item had come in; as they walked across the main area to the back room through a door, he made sure she knew what it was.

"We got this in just over the past few days," he made sure to explain, "supposedly, it was an item that ancient civilizations in what is now Russia used to travel between here and the world of the demons. A solid gold key-like object on a necklace." Atsuko couldn't help but be amazed at the mere verbal description of the artifact retreived from the main museum in Tokyo. She liked the "demon" type artifacts more than any other, but primarily because she seemed to enjoy the unique carvings that ancient cultures used.

"So, where is it?" she asked, mere moments before he lifted a sheet covering a glass display case. Looking at it through the case, she right away appreciated the markings and the shape of the artifact.

"I'm glad you think highly of the material we get in," the curator said, "now, we're gonna be closing in less than an hour, so d'you think you could close up? I have somewhere to go."

"Sure," she replied, and kept about admiring the object as he left the room.

Certain that she was the only one present in the room at that moment, she decided it would be wise to open the glass case in order to take the artifact in her hand. The lid of the case slid open easily, allowing her to reach in and lift the necklace from the pillow it rested upon. She couldn't help but stare at the sheer beauty of the object, which looked more like a kunai blade than a key, and noticed that as she held it in her hand it began to glow.

* * *

In the present:

_To think that it all happened when I was only fifteen,_ thought Atsuko, stepping into the calm disorder that was her house. A familiar cold feeling came over her as she took not three steps inside her residence. Somehow, she vividly recalled exactly what the cold chill meant; it signaled that a powerful demonic presence lurked nearby. Shutting the door, she called to use her spiritual fortifications, namely her youki (demon energy)._Who's there?!_ she calmly demanded. _show yourself!_

"Ah, forgotten, have we?" a familiar voice said. A few moments after speaking, the presence to whom the voice belonged spun around in the chair he sat in, facing Atsuko with a smile on his face. For the first few seconds, at least, she found herself too shocked to move or think, but when she could, she almost literally sprung across the room to throw her arms around him with all her force.

"Saotuke!" she cried, tears streaking down her face as she suppressed her youki. "Years've gone by and I've missed you so much!"

"This time," he softly replied, "I'm here to stay. What's done is done." Even through the heightened emotional state, she had a question that needed to be answered.

"Why'd you come back?" she made sure to ask. He seemed surprised that she didn't already know the answer.

"When I left I thought I'd given you everything you needed, and you'd survive better without me," he explained carefully. "However, you never told me I had a son; otherwise I'd have been here sooner." Atsuko bit her lip; she didn't tell Saotuke about his son because she harbored fears that he'd raise Yusuke to be a powerful demon of destruction. Yusuke's father wasn't known to be cruel or evil, but did possess his share of blood on his hands. Somehow, both knew that had to be the true reason for her keeping the knowledge away from him.

"How'd you find out about..."

"Yusuke?" he interrupted her. "I found out from one of Toguro's old enemies...before I killed him. Told me I'd want to meet this new spirit detective; someone with power to kill Sensui. So, Atsuko, where's my son?"

"Mom, I'm bac...Who the hell are you!?" Both Atsuko and Saotuke turned to see the very person they were speaking of enter the house.

"Speak, and thou shalt be answered."


	2. Chapter Two

Urameshi is More Than Just a Name

By Moonraker One

CHAPTER TWO: Son & Father

In The Present

"You didn't answer my question," Yusuke demanded with calm fury. "I want to know who you are." The spirit detective couldn't believe what he was looking at; his mother stood in front of a man who looked the spitting image of Yusuke himself, only a foot or more taller. He sensed that the man's youki was immense; he merely hid the lion's share of it beneath the surface until a battle situation arose. The half-smile on the man's face struck Yusuke as odd.

"You really want to know?" Saotuke answered eagerly. "I'm your father, your dad, your pop, whatever you like to call it." He could see the disbelief on his son's face as he broke the news to the teen across the room from him. However, he understood; he didn't believe Raizen either when the youkai god told the S-rank youkai about his heritage, either. So he approached the concept of telling his son carefully.

"Bullshit!" replied Yusuke. Having said his peace, the spirit detective flung himself towards the man with intent to plow him over with reiki. Saotuke reacted instantaneously: with such speed that nothing had been seen, he punched the air with such tremendous force that it created a shockwave that carried, blasting Yusuke against the far wall of the house with the force of a Mack truck. This was the trademark "shockwave strike;" it made the demon more powerful by being able to blast away enemies from dozens of feet away, or in this case, the length of the room.

Saotuke shook his head. "Sorry; it's true. And get up because it's insulting to think I could even hit you with such a pathetic blow. Atsuko!" he turned his attention to the woman that had always been by his side. "Didn't you teach our son about the use of energy?"

"No," she argued. "I didn't want him to get involved in affairs that concern us! He died twice, and the first time awakened his extra-senses."

"The second time he died, it brought out his youkai power, am I correct?" Saotuke inquired. "Sensui brought about the second death?" Yusuke's eyes widened as he picked himself up; how could this man know such a thing?

"You're not my father!" Yusuke bellowed. "So you're strong, and you look like me-almost exactly like me-but that doesn't relate you to me!"

"Oh yeah?" With that, Saotuke pulled up his sleeve, revealing a birthmark indigenous to members of the Urameshi bloodline. Instantly, he dispelled any doubt. "I'm certain you'll find that your mother has shown you Human members of our family ancestry. They achieved by marriage, the sacred mark of my ancestor, Raizen. No other way can this mark be gotten by anyone." Yusuke growled slightly.

"Okay, so you're my dad," he angrily stated. "How come you abandoned my mother years ago and suddenly waltz back in?!"

"She was better off in this world without a youkai beside her," he explained, "and with the youkai training she got from me, she certainly had the power to bend normal humans to her every whim." The young spirit detective almost laughed; that certainly held true. "I never knew of you. I left when she turned sixteen after the Dark Tournament. I never got any word from her that she was pregnant with my child, much less had a son. But you are mine, and that is that. I'd have returned to her anyway had you not existed."

"There were times I could have used your guidance!" Saotuke seemed surprised by his son's comment. Not one minute prior the boy claimed to have no father, now he wished he'd had the man's wisdom in the past. Perhaps, Saotuke imagined, humans made no sense. "Never did you EVER think my mother might bear your kid?!"

"Admit it; doesn't it feel better knowing you accomplished every one of your achievements by your own skill?" On that, the topic was non-negotiable; Yusuke seemed amazed at what he got just by his blood and pain.

"I'm still not ready for hug-time."

"I'd beat the crap out of you if you _TRIED_ such a thing."

In The Past

The light glow of the artifact in her hand fascinated her like few other things she'd come in contact with. Jewelry of the finest order that she'd seen her parents wear did not compare with the intricate beauty of the key attached to the necklace that rested in her hand. Unable to resist, she took the necklace and put it around her neck, fastening the loose ends of it at the back of her neck. She noticed almost immediately that the key at the end of the necklace began to illuminate even brighter. The young museum volunteer found she could barely able to see over the vibrant glow of the artifact. What surprised her even more was when the glow faded. No longer did she stand in a dimly lit backroom of a museum in her hometown; now she was hundreds if not thousands of feet above a forest below, rapidly free-falling towards imminent doom.

"Ahhhhh! WHAT IS THIS?!" she screamed, her mouth being forced open by the wind rushing past her on her way down. Closing her eyes seemed to be the best idea at the time; instead of seeing the ground rush up to greet her, she'd meet death in silence. Opening her eyes after a few seconds showed the ground gaining ever closer. So she slammed her eyes as tightly shut as possible the last few feet before the ground.

Her rather soft landing caught the better of her curiosity. Looking down, the pendant's glow had returned; it worked its magic to ensure a safe landing. But now that she could not fear death by impact, a more serious question came to mind: where the _hell_ was she? Or was that the answer? After all, the curator of the museum had said that it allowed transportation between Makai and Nigenkai, so perhaps she made it to the realm of the youkai.

"What are you doing here, Human?" a stern voice demanded. "You're not safe here, not with all these youkai of less honor than myself."

"Oh yeah?" she said, preparing to turn around to greet her sudden visitor. When she turned, she saw, standing immediately behind her, the tallest specimen of a man she'd ever met. Standing no less than six and a half feet tall, with jet black hair greased back in typical Japanese gang-member fashion, was someone who she didn't know to greet or run from screaming. "W...Why...hello...there, who're...you?" she stammered, frightened out of her wits.

"Name's Saotuke. Saotuke Urameshi," he replied, a distinct carry in the tone of his voice; apparently, it happened every time he spoke. The fact that he looked as though he could pulverize her in an instant didn't help her mood towards him.

"Nice...to meet you. I'm Atsuko Synchori."

"Well, Atsuko, I'd suggest you use that pendant of yours to leave this place."

"But," she argued, "I don't know how!"

"Hardly my problem," he replied, strolling away. "I'd really get about figuring it out, though."

She wanted to chase after him, shouting and smacking him, but knew he'd probably smash her head in. Instead, she took the key in her hand and held it closer to her face. "Um, artifact? I'd really like to go home now. Do you think you could take me there?"

Predictably, it gave her no response.

"Poof! Send me to Earth!"

Again, nothing came.

"WILL YOU JUST TAKE ME HOME?!"

It didn't even sparkle.

"Heh heh heh...been so long since I've eaten Human flesh," a voice cried out. Instantly, she whirled around to see who had said that, and saw about the ugliest organizing of flesh ever conceived by a god. Next to it was another who looked just as bad. The first one prepared to lunge for Atsuko, but the other one threw up its arm to stop his comrade.

"Think about how long it's been since I've _held_ human flesh, heh heh heh," it responded. She'd been approached by some unscrupulous _humans_, but two pug-ugly demons were not about to devirgin-ize her. She took off the necklace and hurled it at the two for a distraction, and tore off in the opposing direction with all her speed.

"No way are you getting away that easily!" screeched the demon, taking a long leap and landing on Atsuko's back thrusting her to the ground at once. It grabbed her by her waist and flung her over onto her back and began to claw away at her clothing. Screaming loudly, she prepared as it grabbed her neck.

Not an instant after she screamed, a foot connected with the demon on top of her, hurtling it about a few hundred feet to break its back as it struck a tree. Its comrade cried out for help a moment before a burst of light emitted from the fingertip of a figure she couldn't yet see, and atomized it before it could utter a full sentence. Turning her head, she saw the face of her rescuer.

"I swear," uttered Saotuke, "you've got this huge knack for trouble."

"Thanks for saving me," she complemented him.

"Next time," he continued, "you have to be strong enough to fight off these idiotic lower-class demons. I can't believe you came to makai without adequate power to destroy lower class demons, at least."

"Excuse me! I've never been a fighter!"

"Well, it's time you became one." With that said, he began to walk away. Not a few steps in the opposing direction, he heard her footsteps following him. Turning around, he cried, "Will you stop following me?! Not my fault you're stranded here!"

"I've got nowhere to go!" she pleaded. "_Please_ take me with you. Maybe you can train me to do that light blast thingy you did back there!"

"You're being ridiculous," Saotuke countered. "If you can't even sense ki, how do you expect to be able to manipulate it?!"

"You can teach me!"

Saotuke shook his head; the human female before him probably wasn't going to give up until she got her way, at least that's how he analyzed the situation. He never had much to do besides train and meditate, so it really wouldn't be a schedule problem, but he did not like having to deal with humans much save for when they served his desires. In his mind, he weighed the options; at the very least, he might have another potential servant on his hands. The last time he had one the person had died.

"Grrr...Alright, fine," he began, admitting defeat. "But here's the deal: you do exactly what I say, and don't let me _ever_ catch you fooling around when you should be training. If you aren't sleeping or eating, you'll be doing what I say. We'll be meditating, we'll be practicing the manipulation of ki, and also we'll be sparring after that. If at any time you feel like you can't make it, I'll kill you. Understand?!" She gulped.

"Yuh...yes sir!"

"First, we have to get you to sense your energy, your ki," Saotuke explained. "If you ever want to be able to be powerful, you have to learn to manipulate and sense it. Also, you can learn to fight without the need to see your enemy, if your spiritual senses are high enough. Since you can't utilize your power, I'm gonna have to give you a little of mine to kick-start your spiritual senses." He didn't even finish saying it before he gathered a small quantity of his own aura on the tip of his left index finger, and held the tiny ball of power up for her to see. When he touched it to Atsuko, it assimilated itself into her own aura field, shocking every corner of her body with a severe surge of electric-like power. She desperately gripped her head in agony as his power surged through her, making her feel like her frame was being torn apart. She leaned back and screamed, moments before the pain subsided and her body seemed to return to normal. "Congratulations, few get to experience my power and live."

"What'd you do...?" she began to ask, but he cut her off.

"By giving you part of my aura, two things have occurred: one, my primary goal of activating your spiritual senses have taken effect, and two, you are now a demon, just like me."

His answer freaked her out slightly, but she did not complain. "What happens now?"

In The Present

The initial shock of seeing his father for the first time had died down a slight bit for Yusuke, although by his spiritual senses, he could tell his father's youki made even Sensui's seem like nothing in comparison. He wondered how powerful his father really was, and the prospect of an unimaginably powerful demon being nearby actually made the spirit detective hungry for battle. Looking up at his father, who looked exactly like him save for the visible appearance of a much more mature look, he wondered how the youkai could get through the barrier rebuilt between the makai and the nigenkai.

"So...dad..." he still had trouble calling Saotuke 'dad,' "is mom a demon like you?"

"Yeah," Saotuke responded, "that came about when we first met; she desperately wanted to learn the use of ki, so I gave her a part of my own aura to activate her senses, if you know what I mean. I knew it would demonize her, but it certainly was easier than going through the trouble of teaching her manually."

Yusuke had a major question on his mind. "How powerful is mother, really?" Saotuke shook his head; the last he'd seen her was when she still was just a teenager of sixteen. Even then, though, her power at the dark tournament remained rather obvious.

"Last time I fought alongside her, she was a B-class. Had to be; more and she couldn't have escaped Makai. If you're wondering how I escaped, I borrowed a little trick from her; by morphing into a splinter, I was able to hide in a wayfaring demon on his way out."

"You wanna find a lonely place to spar?" Somehow, his father had been thinking a thought very similar to the question posed by his son; thus, he found himself eager to take his son up on the offer.

"We'd need an area away from the city and rather boring," Saotuke reminded. The sudden appearance of a grin on Yusuke's face indicated he knew exactly where to begin.

"The woods outside of Genkai's temple is crawling with lower ranking demons," Yusuke reminded his father. "No one without spiritual fortification ever goes there."

In The Past

"What do we do next?!" Saotuke boomed. "We begin training at once, that's what!" His slight bit of anger almost caused Atsuko to fall over. "Here's what happens: I'm gonna leave you here in the Makai Forest, and if you survive when I come back in, oh, about a month, we'll begin the second aspect of training."

That left her livid. "WHAT!?" she shrieked. "YOU'RE JUST GONNA ABANDON ME HERE?!"

Using his youki, Saotuke hovered in the air a short bit, and then took off like a rocket into the sky. "Yup, that's the way it goes," he said, his voice slowly receding as he zoomed away. In just a few moments, she found herself very alone, and very frightened, in the middle of a forest infested with demons. She'd just hoped he'd been correct in what his decision was. Well, she checked herself mentally and realized she did feel her own ki as well as several ki signatures nearby that came close to or equaled hers, so perhaps she had _some_ form of protection. _At least_, she thought, _this's better than the way my dad treats me at home_.

Not a few moments into her newfound aloneness, she backed up into a hard object. Turning around, the hard object was actually a youkai that looked to be far uglier than anything she'd experienced before. He also felt like two times her power. "Uh, hello there!" she tried to utter, her weak and frightened voice almost giving out on her.

The demon blasted her by seven rows of trees with a thrust to her stomach. When she tried to come up, he kicked her in the chest, hurtling her upwards into a tree. High above, watching the battle from a vantage point too high for Atsuko to see, Saotuke kept a vigil on the Human girl, because if she died he'd be back to his dull life.

_Quickly, Human!_ he thought. _Find your power and hopefully, your individual youkai technique! Otherwise you'll be fried!_

_Wait!_ Atsuko thought. _Pool my ki into my arms! That'll increase my attack power!_ Her strategy held true, but even so, her punches were pathetically weak. A rising uppercut landed on his jaw but did not faze the demon attacking her. She hurtled a punch at his chest, but he caught it mid-swing with one hand.

"Bye, Human," he said, and with a single burst of energy, atomized all of her, leaving behind only the arm she used to punch him with.

_Shit!_ Saotuke mentally screamed, clenching his fist and unclenching it. _Dead ALREADY! MISERABLE!_

"Bah," the assailant exclaimed, walking away. "Humans're stupid."

But as he slowly ambled away, he heard a sound similar to dripping, so he turned. _Yuck,_ he thought to himself, _the arm I didn't destroy is liquefying!_

It was true, her arm slowly began to turn into a bluish-green liquid that looked more like a paste. The pug-ugly demon couldn't help but look at it, inching closer to it as the process continued. Ultimately, his curiosity urged him to touch the arm, causing the liquid to stick to his arm like silly putty. The only problem was, he found he couldn't get it off.

SPLATTER!

In an instant, the entire puddle of bluish-green liquid leaped up and latched onto his face, spreading like spilled milk to cover his entire head. Screams penetrated the woods as it stretched out quickly, until in a few moments, every inch of his flesh was concealed.

_Huh?!_ Saotuke couldn't understand it; what the hell had happened? He saw a large burst of energy from the demon turn the girl into a pile of ashes. Yet, as the demon fell to his knees before Saotuke's very eyes, screeching through a film of fluid, the very structure of it began to move and twist. Then, it began to trickle away, receding like a shoreline to reveal a shocking secret. When the liquid finally disappeared, it revealed that it had taken hold of the demon's body, rapidly restructuring Atsuko onto the very frame of the demon's body, not like a template or a Xerox, but rather, absorbing _him_ into _her_, regenerating her body incorporating his knowledge and aura in addition to her own.

"Wh...WHAT JUST HAPPENED!?" the newly-reformed Atsuko shouted. Her mind showed her the entire picture in slow motion, but she refused to believe the one remaining piece of her rebuilt her, sucking up the demon that'd attacked her. That, she figured, was the stuff of horror movies, not real life.

"I'll answer that," Saotuke quickly answered, descending. "Each demon has one technique perfectly unique to them. Obviously, you lucked out and managed to get one that will be quite useful."

"Oh, so much for training, huh!" she angrily shouted. "You were gonna let me die there?!"

Smiling sarcastically, he quipped, "but you _didn't_, so that's what matters."


	3. Chapter Three

Urameshi is More Than Just a Name

By Moonraker One

A/N: If this chapter seems shorter, that's cuz it is. Gomen, I felt like where I left it was a good enough stopping point.

CHAPTER THREE: Youkai versus Youkai

In the present

As the duo of father and son approached the temple of Genkai, it seemed the old master had been looking up to the stars, apparently in the midst of meditation. However involved she was, the sound of footsteps brought her back to full awareness, as she always made habit of being on guard. Her temple stood in the middle of a thick forest, and out of the foliage approached a familiar figure. Squinting—her eyes were a byproduct of her being old—she noticed of the two figures approaching, one she recognized as Yusuke Urameshi, her main protégé. The other person, however, didn't register; she'd never seen him before, and she certainly wasn't keen on strangers. On the other hand, if he was with Yusuke, he couldn't be too bad.

"So, you decided to come here to me?" she asked him, noticing his calm demeanor. "You poor, tortured soul. Who's 'Big You'?"

Saotuke rolled his eyes at the elderly master. "I always wondered why they say the mind is the first thing to go," he joked. Genkai shook her head and waved them towards the inside.

"Don't worry, Saotuke, I know who you are."

Yusuke seemed surprised. "You two know each other?" he wondered out loud. "Let me guess, you gave him a training session when he was just a boy." Genkai turned to her protégé, and instantly blew his mind with what she said next.

"Wrong, Yusuke," she shot back. "_He_ gave _me_ a training session when _I_ was just a little girl." Yusuke turned to his father.

"Um...dad?" He still had somewhat a problem calling his father dad. "Exactly how old are you?"

Saotuke cleared his throat. "That's a dumb thing to ask. I'd say about nine thousand years."

"Did you know Raizen?"

The tall youkai lowered his eyebrows; what a memory Yusuke had just brought to the front of his mind. "He was my father," Saotuke carefully explained. "I knew it, he knew it, the only problem was, he never wanted to believe it. The deal was, he loved my Human mother; I loved her too. But I desperately wanted to be a full demon. One day, I finally accomplished it, at the cost of becoming a human-eating demon just like my father was. Oh, you should have seen his fury when he kicked me out of his house forever."

"Do you still eat people?"

"When the dark tournament came around, oh, about six thousand years ago, I finally wished away my evil hunger."

"Have you two answered enough of each other's questions?" Both father and son turned to see Genkai waiting at the front door which led to the main battle area of her temple. It was outside, wide open and large enough that they could fight and not damage the building at all. Once they got out into the open, however, something revealed itself; three distinct figures, each representing a friend.. There stood Hiei, Kurama, and of all people, Atsuko. Yusuke didn't precisely understand what purpose his mother could serve, but then quickly remembered that his father's training had given her something. Saotuke turned to Atsuko.

"Should I fight him first?" he asked. A grin made it onto Atsuko's face.

"No, let _me_." He offer came as a surprise to the other two. Hiei stopped her as she started to walk towards her son.

"Mrs. Urameshi," he said, squinting, "you can't possibly expect to be a match for Yusuke. He's beaten Sensui, and even taken part in the Makai tournament. He's an S-class!"

She looked to the three-eyed demon. "Hiei, I haven't been doing _nothing_ in the past fourteen years." Nevertheless, Kurama and Hiei shot glances at each other.

_Do you actually think she can match_ Yusuke_? I mean..._ Kurama telepathically said, but Hiei cut him off.

_Not a chance,_ he replied. "Mrs. Urameshi, I just can't let you fight him; he's far too strong for you. Fight someone just a bit weaker."

"You mean, someone like _you_, maybe?" Hiei bit his lip purposefully; that was a blatant insult.

"Atsuko," he said nicely, "you're the mother of the person who saved the world, and you're just a weakling, so I'm gonna let that insult slide and just let go. Okay?" Atsuko shrugged.

"That's fine with me, Jaganshi," she fired back. "I mean, you just go on being an idiot. Who cares?" The rock he'd been carrying in his hand for the purpose of relieving stress by squeezing he crushed in his hand and hurled the particles to the ground.

"Alright," he shouted, ripping off his shirt and assuming battle position. "You ASKED for it."

"Hiei, stand back NOW!" Yusuke demanded. Saotuke put his arm in front of his son to stop him.

"Don't interfere. Let Hiei learn his lesson."

"WHAT LESSON IS THAT?" the demon with the Jagan demanded. Furiously, he threw his strongest physical attack at Atsuko. Expecting it to blow her head clean off, he held back on his strength a small amount. Holding his power down, he expected to give her a headache.

Instead, she blocked it with one hand. With his fist in her hand, and the element of surprise on her side, she lifted her knee into his gut and then into his chin, finishing the combo with a standing side kick to the face. He got thrown about six feet back to land on his back. He stood up and shook the dust off him.

"Uh, what the hell just happened?!" Saotuke looked down at his son, who wore an expression of complete and utter shock.

The tall youkai smiled a broad grin. "Someone needs to eat their Wheaties before their next battle."

Hiei turned to the powerful demon. "SAOTUKE! YOU SAID SHE WAS A B-CLASS!"

"Uh uh uh!" he scolded the Jaganshi. "I said she was a B-class _at the dark tournament_, which was about fourteen years ago. I don't know what kind of training she's gotten since then, or maybe she just took you by surprise."

Hiei grumbled. "_I'll_ show you who's taking who by surprise." As soon as he got his mind back onto the battle, he noticed that she had already prepared for her counter assault, which he had almost no time to duck beneath. On the positive side, he was able to avoid the brunt of her attack; on the negative side, the force of the blow he _did_ take was enough to blast him through a tree. Hurling the top of the tree off him, and getting back to a standing position, her aura already had engulfed her, signaling she was heading to full power.

"At your maximum power, you're a middle A-class," she explained to the confused demon with the third eye, "and you certainly outclass me. But, let this teach you that you can't underestimate your opponents." Seeing the pattern in her stance, he launched himself right of her in order to avoid a left hook, and instead of sending a kick to her stomach—which he motioned for—he went for a direct uppercut, taking her by surprise and following it up with a roundhouse to her face. She pushed aura out her back as she flew, effectively stopping herself in midair. It spared her only a moment, though, as he came in quickly with a flying elbow to her chest, taking her by complete surprise again and thrusting her to the ground. On her feet again, she went directly for his face, but he beat her to the punch, nailing her in the chin.

"Dad!" Yusuke shouted. "Why aren't you stopping this?!"

Saotuke looked to his son with a grin. "Because at this rate, Hiei's done for."

Hiei got behind Atsuko and went for a final blow to the back of her head, which landed and she met the ground face first. "Hah. It's over," he said, and began to walk towards the inside of the palace. Saotuke laughed out loud. "What's so funny? I won. Serves her right for insulting my intellect," Hiei responded.

"You idiot!" Saotuke chuckled. "Look behind you."

In the Past

Atsuko looked left and right, at the vastness of the Makai forest, simply amazed at the level of uniqueness of the demon world's forest, yet, how many qualities it shared with Nigenkai. What snapped her out of her wandering state of mind, was a sudden slap by Saotuke.

"PAY ATTENTION!" he shouted, immediately getting her attention. "I'm trying to get you stronger, and here you are, acting like an idiot." She instantly managed to get herself back into proper order. Although, his means seemed quite rude to her as she prepared to continue her training.

"I was just trying to get a peek at the scenery! Jeez!" she cried. "We really don't have to _go_ anywhere, do we?!" Saotuke rolled his eyes.

"Actually," he replied, "I was planning on a little 'field trip.' You up for a little snatch and go?"

She raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Snatch and go? What're you talking about?!"

"I mean, for this part of your training, you're gonna steal a major artifact from a prominent demon palace."

She recoiled in shock. "Are you NUTS?! I'm new here!" He didn't seem to want to further argue the point, so he merely grabbed her by her shirt and began to drag her towards the destination. After about seven feet, she surrendered and began walking on her own will. As the duo trotted towards their target, she couldn't help but stare at the level of beauty in the flora and fauna of the demon world. She'd always believed it was horrid, dank, and evil, but the forest always appealed to her senses. She'd wanted to be a park ranger when she grew up, but her father tended to crush hopes and dreams. Nevertheless, she knew a fortune of knowledge could be made on the different species of trees and plants that had to be unique to the Makai.

About two and a half hours slowly trudged by as they walked a seemingly endless winding path to the palace. A non-visible path that only Saotuke seemed to know was their shortcut to a place, where, according to his knowledge, had the most powerful demons in the kingdom. He did not fear them, but then again, _he_ was not the one being trained here. Atsuko was, and the girl didn't have but the power of perhaps a lower C-class youkai. Soon, they came up behind a tree, and the duo hid themselves behind trees and concealed their power. It was a mighty-looking palace, and there were at least seven guards on patrol.

"Atsuko," he whispered. When he noticed she was not focusing on his words, he sharpened his tone without raising his voice. "_Atsuko!_" he rasped. She almost jumped, but maintained her posture and turned to him.

"What?!" she shouted in a whisper.

"You go in there," he quietly explained, "and make sure not to get caught by the palace leader. He's a very powerful demon—I mean, he's very powerful from _your_ perspective."

"Oh _great!_ I'm supposed to just waltz in and steal it?!"

"Yeah. _Go!_"

In The Present

Hiei turned just slightly too slow, and found that his face became introduced to a flying kick. Everyone looked on in surprise as he flew across the field and ultimately smashed through a tree. Everyone, that is, except for Saotuke. He knew all along that she'd improved a significant amount since the dark tournament. Although he hadn't been there, he had reliable sources—sources linked to his former teammate Toguro—that always kept him informed. Why they never told him about Yusuke until now, though, was another story.

"So, now that you've been proven completely wrong, Hiei," the tall youkai said as he watched the fire demon pick himself up. "Are you going to give up the fight? Because my son Yusuke here would probably like to get his shot in now."

Hiei threw up his arms, in defeat. "Ok! OK! Fine!"

"Um, dad? I'd really much rather fight _you_ than mom."

Saotuke turned to his son. "Don't worry, you'll get to fight whomever wins this next bout." The Super S-ranked youkai turned to his wife. "Atsuko, I think it's about time to see how far your training has got you."

She drew her aura out as much as she could, empowering herself to her utmost. She knew if she was to put a dent in a nine thousand year-old youkai, she'd have to pull out all the stops. Saotuke pulled off his shirt, which revealed a rather unique trait: at his normal level of power, he looked skinny as a rail. Clenching his fists, the youkai loosened the chains on his youki, causing his muscles to expand to a size close to Toguro's, and his power skyrocketing to just below S-level combat. Yusuke estimated his father's power to be at least twice that of his opponent at the Dark Tournament. However, it was Saotuke's next sentence that took everyone by surprise.

"Twenty percent of my power should about do it for _this_ combat," he said. "Don't want to hurt her more than I want to."

"T...TWENTY PERCENT?!" Kurama shrieked. He wasn't usually one to be surprised but the thought of the youkai using such a small percentage of his strength and being as strong as he currently was, flabbergasted him. "You mean you're using only a fifth of your strength?!" It looked unique for a combat situation: Atsuko was revved up as high as her youki would allow, Saotuke was using only a fifth of his power, yet they presently looked almost equal. It was almost too much to comprehend.

Atsuko kicked off the fight with a straight-on punch to his chest that he dodged with slight difficulty. Bending his body concavely, he avoided a sideways kick to his stomach, and then bent convexly to duck below a roundhouse aimed at his head. She managed to deliver a fake kick which she turned instead into a punch, which landed on his right cheek and threw him backwards. He landed on his hands and knees, but couldn't react fast enough to avoid an axe kick that propelled him upwards, allowing her to nail him in the back with a kick.

"Hey, Urameshi!" Hiei beckoned. "It looks like your mom's winning. That's pretty sad."

Saotuke hit the ground thanks to a downward strike from Atsuko. She landed and made the peace sign with her right hand, as he picked himself up off the ground. "So, twenty percent ain't enough for you huh?" he said, making his aura rapidly expand. "I HAVE TO GO TO THIRTY!"

"I lose! I lose!" Atsuko cried. "I can beat you at twenty, but thirty is _way_ too much for me."

The demon turned to his son. "Yusuke! Step in!"

Yusuke raised an eyebrow. "Don't you want to take a breather?"

"Step in! NOW!"


End file.
